In hospitals, taper fittings are commonly used to connect tubings carrying intravenous fluids, blood and medications. One of the most commonly used taper fittings is referred to as a luer. Typically, a luer comprises a small diameter fitting incorporating a through hole having a diameter of approximately 1/16 inch. The male luer fitting is often provided with a skirt having internal threads. The matching female luer has locking ears or external threads to facilitate a secure connection to the male luer. FIG. 1 illustrates prior art male and female luers with locking threads. In the prior art luer shown in FIG. 1, the female luer has no skirt, while the tip of the male luer extends beyond the threaded skirt included therewith.
One of the deficiencies associated with the prior art luer fitting is that when the fitting is disconnected, fluid such as blood that is flowing through the tubing can be easily touched by the person disconnecting the fittings. As will be recognized, such exposure compromises the sterility of the system since the touching of the tips of the luer fittings introduces contaminants into the system in addition to exposing the person coming into contact with the body fluids to infectious diseases such as hepatitis or AIDS.
As such, there exists a need in the art for a simple, effective means to protect such fittings and tubing connections against contamination. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies associated with the prior art luer fittings by providing a shrouded tubing interface for quickly connecting, disconnecting and avoiding contamination of first and second fluid flow lines.